Chapter 212 - I am back

Edited by Ilesyt

After the rainy season ended, many creatures in the river disappeared. Piranhas were the most common in the river, but there were also smaller fish which appeared from time to time to eat the bigger fish that sometimes gnawed on their ship.

Shao Xuan had told Yan Zhi and the others about the danger in the river. This time they set out together and Shao Xuan paddled together with the others.

Making use of the sail, and paddles, they moved forward with the help of Chacha. Just like when he had done so when they came here last year.

Thanks to his experience of last year, this time Shao Xuan knew what he should pay attention to. He had made preparations in case that the invisible air pressure came down.

They had made preparations and avoided being curious. They focused on their journey, so in general it was a smooth trip.

But Shao Xuan always had a very strange feeling when sailing on this river again. He couldn’t tell the reason, but he always had the feeling that they should be moving faster.

Although it was not clear what that feeling was, he didn’t have a sense of danger. Shao Xuan did not understand, and no longer thought about it. He thought when he was free he would ponder it again.

For Yan Zhi and the others, they would overcome no matter what kind of difficulties they encountered, because they knew that the Flaming Horns tribe was on the other side of the river.

As they sailed on the river, the people in the Flaming Horns tribe had been restless since the beginning of the rainy season. Even after the rainy season ended, the restlesssness grew.

“Mai, you think Shao Xuan will come back?” Lang Ga asked as he played with some stone arrowheads that he had just sharpened.

“No idea.” Mai said as he put away his hunting tools.

“The Shaman said Shao Xuan had gone to the old haunt. Do you think Shao Xuan will spend a few years there before he returns?” Lang Ga asked.

Mai did not answer this time, none of them knew the situation on the other side of the river.

Mai’s silence did not make Lang Ga shut up. He continued to speak to himself, “What do the people of the other tribes look like? If Shao Xuan can come back safely now, can we go with him to the other side of the river next year, to the old haunt that the Shaman had mentioned?”

Lang Ga thought like that, and the majority in the tribe had the same idea.

This year, the people in the tribe changed a lot. Even the two teamleaders who had always had conflicts could get on well.

If the past, after the rainy season ended, the people would go hunting. But this year, the two teamleaders didn’t want to lead their teams to go hunting, so after a discussion, the Shaman and the chief allowed them to stay.

Every day, many people were active on the banks of the river.

Day by day, the water level of the river had begun to decline.

“Can Shao Xuan come back?”

“Did he forget to come back?”

“Nonsense!”

Once the water level of the river began to reduce, time would fly faster and faster.

So anxious!

They didn’t know how long he needed to travel on the river. They felt anxious when they saw the water level of the river drop day by day. Shao Xuan should come back after the rainy season ended and before the full moon.

On the river bank there were fish cages, which were removed from the river one by one. Those who came here for a walk every day ate less and less and became much thinner in just a few days.

A certain day, some sand was exposed on the river. The two teamleaders who came here every day saw it and sighed. They saw the helplessness in the eyes of each other.

The greater hope they had, the more disappointment they felt. They had already believed that Shao Xuan would not come back this year. Maybe next year?

They didn’t feel one year was a long period of time, but now both felt it was too long.

When they were sighing, next to them Ke Ke was poking the sand with boredom and staring at the river. Suddenly, he rose and fixed his eyes on the distant river.

Ta and Gui He saw Ke Ke and became nervous. They ignored everything else and looked to the distant river at once.

The sun was dazzling and the ripples of the river reflected the golden light. Far away, on the border between the river and the sky, Ta and Gui He saw a black dot, although it was blurry.

“Is... is that Ah Xuan?” Ta said in a trembling voice. He hadn’t liked Shao Xuan. But since he knew more about him, he had understood that whether the tribe could move or not depended on Shao Xuan. Since then he had a different attitude towards him, and even held unprecedented expectations.

Ta had great hope, so at the first glance of the black dot on the river he hesitated and didn’t dare to believe it.

“Yes, that must be Shao Xuan!”

“Who else could it be?”

“Boss, that must be Shao Xuan!”

Standing next to Ta, Ke Ke and others replied.

Ta ignored them and looked to Gui He, waiting for his answer.

Gui He stared at the river, the black dot was getting closer. His face had been stiff and the facial muscles trembled now. His eyes were filled with ecstasy, “Yes, look at the sky!”

In the sky, there was a figure.

“That’s Chacha!”

“Ha ha ha ha!!”

Gui He laughed loudly. He held a whistle, took a deep breath and blew it hard.

In the mountainsm the whistle usually made a clear sound as a bird, but this time, the sound was very sharp. However, hearing the whistle, the people in the tribe didn’t found it was sharp. Because the sound was made by a person on the river bank, which meant something they were hoping for had happened.

The whistle was short and it stopped. Gui He had intended to continue to blow it, but the wood whistle broke because he blew it too hard.

Gui He was so excited at this moment that the whistle broke.

The Shaman said as long as Shao Xuan came back, they would have hope to make all their wishes come true.

For thousands of years, what the ancestors had been looking forward would be reality.

“Jiaoo~~!”

A long eagle scream was heard between the earth and the heaven. The people in the tribe heard it.

Caesar, before old Ke could ride on his back, ran to the river bank. Old Ke was left alone, looking at Caesar’s back and shaking his crutch. He didn’t look angry and his red eyes were filled with joy.

“Awuuu~~!”

The beasts on the mountainside and the mountain also roared because they heard the sound which they hadn’t heard for a year.

Standing on the top of the mountain, the Shaman turned around and climbed down the mountain directly to the foot of the mountain. He was even more excited than he had been when he had heard that the remains of the ancestors were found.

One year. This year, the Shaman thought every day about if Shao Xuan succeeded, what would happen. If not, what else would happen.

The Shaman was stressed out, so he looked much older this year.

Soon, many people gathered on the river bank. Even when the hunting teams returned from their hunt, not such a great number of people would welcome them. Almost everyone that could walk came to the river bank. Those who could not move or were injured asked others to carry them on their backs.

Standing in the front were the Shaman, the chief, the team leaders, and several respected elders. The place they stood was the only place which was not crowded.

In the other places, everyone wanted to stand in the front, but the space was limited. They had to jostle for position.

Even on the fish cages made by Shao Xuan and Lang Ga, it was also crowded. Whoever wanted to stand there, he or she needed to rely on his or her strength.

It was more difficult for the brawny people to squeeze on the few pillars in the small space

“Hey, don’t push!”

“Fuck! Go behind!”

“Don’t push. Or I will give you a lesson...”

Those who stood in the front on the river bank felt their backs were pushed hard. They had planned to turn back to roar, but when they saw Caesar, who was even taller than them, they immediately shut their mouths and gave way.

They had to let it go. They saw Caesar expose his teeth, and if they didn’t let him go, they would be bitten and thrown away.

Shao Xuan also saw the people on the river bank. He stood at the front of the boat, waved his hand, and shouted at them loudly, “I am back!”

“Awuuuu~~!”

Caesar raised his head, howled and shoved the several people next to him. He was so excited that he wanted to jump into water. But he didn’t do so, because there were too many uncertainties in the river.

“That...that is...our tribe?” Yan Zhi and the others felt their hearts beat quickly. ‘Our tribe’ were two words that changed the meaning of their life.

They could feel the people there were kind and familiar before they even saw the land. That kind of strong feeling was brought by the fire seed, which made their blood boil.

And now, when they saw those people on the river bank, they became energetic again, though they had become weak after sailing on the river for so long.

That is our tribe!

Yan Shuo held a wooden paddle and intended to paddle harder. Although Chacha pulled the boat, they now wanted to hurry to go closer to the bank.

Yan Zhi had the same idea. They had planned to paddle forward, but suddenly they heard the sound of something jumping out of water in the back of their boat.

They had heard a similar sound many times during the journey. That was the sound of a fish jumping out of the water. Judging from the sound, it must be a big fish.

Yan Zhi and the others felt worried.

When they had faced with such a problem on the water, Shao Xuan and Chacha had solved it. But now Shao Xuan was standing at the front of the boat at the moment and he did not intend to turn around to help them.

Judging from its shadow, the fish got closer and closer to them. Yan Zhi turned around and he saw the fish scales, which were larger than his palm, and its thick big fangs in its mouth.

If they didn’t take action, the fish would drop down and eat Yan Zhi and Yan Shuo, who were closest to its mouth. And if it hit the boat, the boat would be turned over.

The fish was getting closer and Yan Zhi could even smell the fish smell.

We almost reached the tribe. Will we be eaten by the fish?

Yan Zhi and Yan Shuo felt their hands and feet become cold, and could only take the wooden paddles to try to beat the fish, though they all knew that they weren’t as strong as the big fish.

But before Yan Zhi and Yan Shuo could act, they heard a sharp sound from the river bank. Then a strong and cold wind quickly swept across their skin, so they all got goose bumps.

Za! Za! Za! Za!

Many spears, thin or thick, and many stone blades, long or short, were thrown past Yan Shuo and Yan Zhi and hit the fish.

Puff!